New Venture Internship Teaching UAlbany Students to Run a Startup Firm
By Carol Olechowski

Rami Hyary knows motivation and talent when he sees them. So when he had an idea for an initiative that will enable students to use their expertise in giving new business ventures a jump start - and, in the process, form a company that may employ them after graduation - he brought it to his alma mater, the University at Albany.

Hyary, who graduated from Albany in 1986 with a psychology major and a minor in computer science, pitched the idea to one of his former professors, Peter Bloniarz of the Department of Computer Science. With Department of Management Chair and Professor Cecilia Falbe, Bloniarz and Hyary developed an academic program to enroll students selected for the new venture team in a School of Business internship program this semester, and in an independent study course with Falbe next spring.

In response to a letter from School of Business Assistant Dean John Levato, a number of students indicated their interest in the New Venture Internship. Hyary first interviewed students by telephone; later, he, Bloniarz, and Falbe conducted face-to-face interviews for the positions of chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and vice president for marketing.

Three students were selected for the program, which Bloniarz termed an experiment for the University. They will work with outside companies that have concepts for product development, in a setting supported by both an academic environment and the practical experience offered by the sponsoring firm. Falbe noted that she and Bloniarz are excited by the prospect of melding academics with the fundamentals of developing and launching a new venture.

As Hyary conceptualized it, the class will accelerate the process of forming a company. It will also evolve into a corporation itself, with each of the students assuming an executive role. I gave them titles because I wanted them to be clear where the responsibilities in the company lie, explained the native of Israel. Someone has to be accountable for the business plan; for outside communications and product research; for budgets, expenses, product pricing, and distribution; and for computer programming.

Attorney Rich Honen of Honen & Wood, Albany - a firm that specializes in startups - will advise the group on legal issues related to the setup of the company. Honen will be working with students Thomas Amenedo, Chia (Wendy) Hsu, and Margaret Pitta, who are serving as CEO, CFO, and marketing VP, respectively, of the yet-to-be-named corporation. A fourth student is being sought to fill the position of chief technical officer. The young entrepreneurs, who are serving as unpaid interns, will earn six credits each for their internship-related academic work.

The class is starting out small, with only four student participants, but Hyary predicts expansion. What we are trying to do is produce a prototype that will be working by late in the second semester [Spring 2001], he said. At the conclusion of the yearlong course, added Bloniarz, who currently serves as interim director of the Universitys Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the students will present their business plan to a panel of venture capitalists and other potential investors. Another possibility is for a company to develop the product or service in-house.

Eventually, Hyary hopes to launch four new teams of student entrepreneurs each academic year. The first group has already developed a mission statement: to create an environment in which information is kept confidential on the Internet. Hyary declined to offer further details but acknowledged that that information will not include financial transactions.

By mid-September, the corporate officers were eager to assume their duties. Margie Pitta, the marketing VP and the only junior in the class, signed up for the course because it is allowing me augmented experience in business. I knew that if we were to have just four students, the work was not only going to be marketing, and that everybody would end up doing a little of everything, which is what happens at small companies.

A business administration major with a concentration in finance and marketing, Pitta hopes to apply valuable experience from this internship to the career I choose. Her summer 2000 internship with Acquis Consulting Group, LLC, in New York City allowed her to work with clients to prepare and implement marketing plans for a variety of products and services. The Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., native - whose extracurricular activities at Albany have included tutoring and playing on the Division I womens lacrosse team - is grateful for the extensive assistance she and her classmates have received from their mentors and the University. Without them, this program would not have been possible.

Pitta recognizes that plenty of hard work awaits her. Starting a company from scratch is going to be a challenging endeavor full of speed bumps and hurdles, but when it is accomplished, it will be something that we can all look back at and be proud of, she commented.

For Wendy Hsu, a senior whose family emigrated from Taiwan to Queens, the prospect of establishing a small company that will, in turn, assist in launching other startup firms offers lots of opportunity and challenge. This past summer, she worked for an Internet startup and recalled that it is very challenging to start a company.

As CFO of the student-run venture at Albany, the finance and MIS major will work with an outside accountant to keep track of expenses by doing financial statements, balance sheets, and a business prospectus. She is delighted to be participating in an enterprise that many students have probably never been involved with. I am being exposed to a lot of legal and marketing aspects of business, and learning about teamwork, as well. Once I go out into the real world, Ill understand all aspects of business structure. Ill be ready for the challenges of the business world.

CEO Tom Amenedo recently completed a summer internship in venture capital, the flip side of what were trying to accomplish now. He signed up for the class because I saw what startup companies go through to reach the point where theyre seeking funding. Our goal is to seek capital from an outside group.

Observed Amenedo, a senior business administration major with a concentration in finance and MIS: Startups really are a driving force in the economy right now. If you can get exposure to a startup at a high level, its a very unique opportunity - especially in the very early stages of a company, when its really nothing more than an idea. It gives you a better understanding of how things are going to be in the future, when youre working.

Amenedo is not certain what he will do after graduation next spring; however, he is confident that his degree will offer a bunch of different things I can pursue, including the startup. If it takes off and we have funding before I graduate, then thats definitely an opportunity I can continue to work on.

In fact, retaining Albany graduates in the Capital Region - and giving the University a higher profile in the area business community - were two of Hyarys objectives in proposing the enterprise: I want to get the University intimately involved with creating startups - the whole Tech Valley concept. Theres a lot of initiative here at Albany.

In addition to his connections as former student, alumnus, and onetime employee - he worked at Albany from 1987 to 1991, and helped to establish Admissions first computer network - Hyary brings something else to the table: 15 years of expertise in the computing field. His company, Acuitive, Inc., which helps early stage startups in network infrastructure and e-business accelerate their growth, boasts offices nationwide, including one in Silicon Valley. Acuitive president Mark Hoover volunteered to visit and give the students feedback on their efforts, Hyary said. It isnt often that people living in Albany can have someone from Silicon Valley come to them and say how valuable their work is.

The entire project, he pointed out, is a win-win situation for all involved. Hsu, Amenedo, and Pitta acquire entrepreneurial experience, academic credit, the opportunity to work with Silicon Valley experts, and the possibility of post-graduate employment. Startups receive the help they need to make the leap from concept to reality. And the Capital Region formulates a way of accelerating startup businesses and strengthening its economy.

Any obstacles we face [in this venture] can be overcome with enough motivation and talent, Hyary stated. Albany students have plenty of both.